


Greeting Card

by Severina



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Community: tvrealm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-16
Updated: 2013-02-16
Packaged: 2017-11-29 11:04:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/686233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Severina/pseuds/Severina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He doesn't think.  He slips the card in his pocket.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Greeting Card

**Author's Note:**

> Post Season Two. Written for LJ's tvrealm comment fic challenge, for the prompt "greeting card".
> 
> * * *

The pharmacy is a goldmine. They find half a dozen bottles of Percocet, an entire carton of toilet paper, several cases of water shoved beneath the wooden staircase. Daryl slings his crossbow onto his back and joins the group in hauling the loads out to the Hyundai, dirty boots shuffling through the detritus of the shelves lying scattered on the floor, all the things that don't matter anymore – packages of hair dye, tubes of zit cream and lipstick.

On his way back inside he catches sight of a bottle of shampoo snagged under one of the toppled shelves, is bent over and reaching to grab it when he sees the card out of the corner of his eye. A cartoon kitten clutching a red heart, the white paper limp and soiled, smudged by half a boot print that might be his own. He snatches it up, takes a quick glance around. Glenn is still dragging water from the back room and Rick is on point at the door, every line of his body tense. Beyond him, Daryl can just make out the first of the walkers heading in their direction.

He doesn't think. He slips the card in his pocket.

It's only when they're halfway back to the storage lockers that he realizes he forgot to pick up the damn shampoo.

* * *

Carol looks haggard and worn, curled up by the window and squinting over the small print in a medical journal that they snagged on a raid on a doctor's office a while back. There are dark smudges under her eyes, a thin strip of dirt on the wiry muscle of her arm. Still pretty, for all that.

Prettiest thing he ever saw.

He starts and stops the walk over to her half a dozen times, chewing on his nail and trying to ignore the voices in his head calling him a damn fool, until finally he notices that Glenn is watching him with a barely concealed grin. He straightens his shoulders at that, frowns and reaches into his vest and takes the dozen steps across the room to let the card drop onto the book in her lap.

But when she turns those pale green eyes up to his, questioning, all the bravado leaves him in a rush. He ducks his head, swallows dryly, narrowly manages to keep himself from bolting.

"Got you that," he finally is able to mumble.

Her long pale fingers brush against the edges of the card. Like it's something delicate. Something special. 

When she doesn't speak he forces himself to raise his eyes. Her lips are upturned in a small smile, and when she looks up at him her own eyes are shining. Daryl blinks, backing away quickly. Suddenly it feels like all eyes are on him, on them. 

"Don't go startin' the waterworks," he says gruffly. "It's just a damn card."

He spends the rest of the night cleaning his arrows. But he notices that she tucks the card carefully away, still smiling.


End file.
